So, I downloaded the full minors rosters for MLB:The Show 2011 and figured I'd start up a Mariners franchise to see if I can do something with them. I have a solid base of experience with craptastic teams, having focused heavily on playing the Royals for some time.

I'll see if I can't move along at a decent clip, particularly with the 2011 season (When I'm getting serious about playing games, I'll usually play one per series -- The sim engine is surprisingly good). I'm playing a game a week for spring training because, well, who cares?

At first glance, I'm thinking it'll take at least two or three years to get into the playoffs (Could make a run in 2012, but would have to get pretty stupid in Free Agency, and I like to build up a base of solid minor league teams as well as competing in the bigs).

As it stands, I'm about ten games into spring training and... Jeez, these guys suck. This year's Mariners remind me strongly of last years Royals. Felix is even better than Zack, though there's little to no offensive support behind him. Decent speed on the basepaths, and I'm actually pretty happy with the defense at this point -- Though things will have to change a bit, great D isn't so great when the guys in question have no bats.

Some thoughts from the first batch of spring training:

Jack Cust sucks. Hard. In a 'Why is this guy even on the team' sort of way. Finding a DH that can actually hit will be an early season priority. If I have to drag up a one-trick pony hitter from AA, I fully intend to. Gah.

Pineda will be good. It will probably not be THIS year, though. Could've probably stood a season in the minors, but there really isn't much of a choice from a quick glance at the rotation.

Smoak could be a stud, but again... Probably not this year.

Bedard, Fister, Vargas -- Meh.

Desperately need another catcher. Olivo is looking like a solid roster slot, but if he stubs a toe or needs a day off we're fricked. I've already brought up Bard for the role, but it was an act of desperation.

Infield: I like Wilson's glove so far. Ditto with Figgins. The only lock at this point, though, is Smoak. Dustin Ackley has tons of potential, but is a long way off.

Outfield: A whole lot of Meh. Ichiro is Ichiro, but has a lot of mileage -- Probably isn't going to be part of a -successful- Mariners team, which is a few years off.

Minors: Honestly? Kansas City's kids looked a lot better. There are a few promising faces down there, but it really is slim pickings with the occasionally hopeful shot at mediocrity.

Problems: Uh... Everything. We have one, maybe two slots in the rotation that are solid. The bullpen is mediocre at first glance. Aardsma is decent but unspectacular at this point, and suffers the same situation that Soria has in KC. Not many games to save if you can't score any runs. I'd say C, 1B, RF are okay for now, everything else is fair game... But I don't really have anyone worth trading for anything that would help. Felix is locked down long-term to a huge contract, but attendence and revenue would likely drop into the toilet if I tried to deal him for a couple prospects.

THIS is going to be interesting.

As it stands: 4-1 start to preseason. Then came the skid, currently at 5-6.

Spring Training... 9-20. Couldn't work out a worthwhile trade to get a decent DH into the lineup. These M's are all sorts of frustrating in their inability to generate runs... Ichiro doubles, groundout to third, strikeout, flyball. Repeat.

Opening day embodied what's showing up as a Major Problem with the M's. Firstly, as we're getting ready to take the field, I'm informed that Felix has a sinus infection. Okay, so let's reorganize the rotation to get him time. Bedard gets opening day.

Here's the line:

SEA: 2 / 11 / 0OAK: 7 / 10 / 2

What the hell?! Get guys in scoring position and the whole team turns into spastic monkeys. Oakland tried in multiple ways to give us the game, just wouldn't happen.

Seattle gets off to an 0-4 start. Team ERA for the first four games: 8.18

Cust is busily setting some sort of anti-clutch record for screwing up with guys in scoring position.

KC is desperate enough to take basically nothing for Kila Ka'aihue or even Eric Hosmer. Neither has Cust's power versus RHP, but Kila's a more well-rounded DH, and Hosmer is a full-on A prospect -- But in need of development, it'd be an immediate downgrade. Tempted to pull the trigger on one of those.

So, inasmuch as I like to start out a season with my Hand-Picked version of the roster, we went pretty quickly along with the 2011 season. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get too much accomplished in trades. Simply stated, the M's didn't really have any desirable trade players. In a rebuild, I'm not going to trade off promising prospects... and I'm not going to trade away the superstar 24 year old starting pitcher locked into a long contract... AND I'm not going to just bail on Ichiro, hoping to let him retire a Mariner.

June started out pretty good, with the Mariners winning 12 of 14, sticking a 7-game win streak in there. After that, though... there really wasn't much to rejoice.

39-54 at the All-Star break. 2/3 of the Mariner's representation came from the earlier trade.

Brett Lawrie, Travis Snider, and Ichiro all made the All-Star team. Lawrie, putting in a bid for rookie of the year at 3rd base, was sitting at .284 with 6 HR and 15 SB.

07/28: C Bard to Cardinals for C Steven Hill and RP Francisco Samuel

And... that was it for trades.

The Seattle Mariners finish 2011 at 65-97. Definitely a 'Same Old Mariners' feel, but there were bright spots.

No big splash as I was hoping, though getting LaRussa on board was a pretty big deal. McClouth will contribute, and Schumaker is likely to win a good number of starts at second. Otherwise, this is still looking like about a 70-win team on the surface with .500 being a vague possible best.

14-15 Spring Training just confirms the impression. We have surprisingly hot bats for the month, though. Gutierrez knocks 4 homers, and five other players have 3. Maybe we can generate some runs for Felix and McClellan.

Yeah, Ichiro 2012 is an aging outfielder in a contract year. He's hitting .400-plus early in the season, but he's coming off a year of hitting in the .270's with only 30 stolen bases (Matching Lawrie's rookie campaign). I could probably make out pretty well with trading him closer to the All Star break to some random desperate team looking for that final piece for a playoff run.

Would like to see him retire a Mariner, but it could certainly hamper things.

7-16 moving into the beginning of the month. These guys are frustrating as hell. Pitching is pretty solid, yet all of these supposedly solid bats are mustering around a .230 batting average. Mariner fans do not seem to be nearly as surprised as I am. Ahem.

Looking at development, it's obvious Ichirio is on the downslide. Sure, he's solid now, but his skills are deteriorating. The Iglesias trade also netted us one Dayan Viciedo, so all is not lost if Ichiro does find himself on the trading block. It'd hurt, but another 100-game losing season might hurt a bit more.

None of our bats are showing up, so far. Smoak and Snider are quiet. One of the best hitters on the young season is Steven Hill, and that should tell you how anemic the offense has been.

The M's are settling solidly into a rut. I've got 0-3 starters with sub-4 ERAs.

The team is flooded with 'A' potential players, most of whom aren't bringing their 'A' game. Some of last year's 'A' guys are now 'B' guys, and a couple of 'B' guys are now 'C' guys. It's like the move up to the Pacific Northwest sucks the baseball talent right out of ya.

LaRussa is undoubtedly wondering what possessed him to take the job.

05/2012: State of the M's

SP:

Felix: Underperforming to a great degree. Last season's 11-12 record isn't near as much of a concern as his increased ERA. His contract is eating up 12-15 million dollars per year for the next four or five years. He's starting out 2012 1-2 with an ERA over 4.20

Pineda: Still tons of potential, but his velocity and K's have tailed off a bit in the offseason after a nagging shoulder injury. Losing velocity could be a KILLER for this guy, as his main problem so far has been over-reliance on his fastball.

Fister: Above and beyond the call of duty. Second best pitcher in the rotation so far this season, with the lowest expectation to start.

Zach Stewart: Definite improvement over his brief attempt at the bigs last season, putting up almost a 9 ERA. 0-3, but keeping his ERA under 4.00, so it's hardly his fault.

Kyle McClellan: The ace so far. 2-1, 2.96 ERA.

-----------------

RP:

Brandon League: Frustrating. The guy can give up two runs in three pitches, then lock down for a couple innings. Excellent reliever that can get erratic and give up blow-up innings.

Dan Cortes: Very promising, starting to trust the guy with higher-pressure situations.

Josh Lueke: Middle of the road, flashes of potential. Not there, yet.

Shawn Kelley: See Lueke, Josh.

David Aardsma: Need an upgrade at closer. Not bad, not dominant.

---------------

Infield:

Justin Smoak: Kid is off to a rough start, hitting under .220 through April. Too much talent to bench him, but how long does THAT hold out?

Skip Schumaker: Stop-gap to hold the position down until Ackley develops enough to take over. It's a pretty close thing, but the young converted outfielder/first basement still doesn't have the fielding part quite down.

Jose Iglesias: Pitcher's best friend, so far this year. The guy absolutely keeps runs off the board in the field. Great range, great arm, great glove. Not a horrible bat, but it's been just as iffy as everyone else's so far... at least he brings something else to the table.

Brett Lawrie: Sophmore slump. After an All-Star rookie campaign, he's come out of the gate hitting under .200.

Steven Hill: Since Olivo started tailing off, has taken over as the uncontested starting catcher. Second best batting average on the team.

-------

OF:

Ichiro: Has lost a step. Already caught stealing a couple times. Great glove, still. Hitting over .370, so is the only bat on the team. Left on base pretty often.

F. Gutierrez: Excellent fielder, but the bat hasn't been there. I'm pretty close to benching the guy, moving McClouth back over to CF, and letting Snider get back on the field. Hitting in the .120 range, it's pathetic.

Nate McClouth: Decent in the field, one of our better crappy hitters so far. Ain't great, but has a lock in the lineup by being better than putrid. .240's, 5HR for April.

Travis Snider: Not really thriving in the DH role. The kid is capable of 30-40 homers per season, and can hit for average when he has his head out of his ass. Hasn't had his head out of his ass.

Okay, so despite the first couple months of suck, the '12 Mariners clawed their way back to relevance. Just after the draft, in which we selected a batch of utterly useless people that I shall not name (If you see me talking about some dude we've desperately plugged into the lineup because everyone else died, he probably came from this year's draft), we're sitting at 28-33.

Snider is starting to come alive, hitting .299 with 8 homers... at which point he immediately screws up his MCL and goes on the DL.

Before the break, I finally give up on Frank. He's still hovering around .200, and McClouth is ALSO a good center fielder, so we work to sucker some other team into dealing with him.

The Cleveland Indians step up, and we end up trading CF Franklin Gutierrez, CP David Aardsma, and 3B Brett Lawrie for CP Chris Perez and 3B Lonnie Chisenhall.

Yes, I realize Lawrie was an All Star as a rookie last season, but he's been less-than stellar this season. Chisenhall is a comparable hitter, a better fielder, and has a better contract. Perez makes Aardsma look rather incompetent. He's sporting a 0.93 ERA at the trade to Aardsma's 5.03. Apparently Cleveland REALLY wanted Frankie.

At the All-Star Break, we're at 43-49, riding a 7-game win streak. The only Mariner on the AS roster is newly-traded Chris Perez.

A game after play resumes... Snider and Saunders both immediately put themselves on the 60-day DL... TWO PLAYS from one another. Snider tears his hamstring sliding into home on a strech-out score. Not to be outdone, Saunders jacks himself... get this... diving back to second on a foul ball.

FUUUUUUUU....

Not long after, we trade Ichiro.

It was a tough call. I was wanting to hang on to the dude, as he crossed his 2500 hit milestone this season. Then I started floating him on the trade block, and nobody really cared. 38 year old right fielder without a great deal of power, it's a hard sell. Then along came Philly.

Trade:

RF: Dominic BrownSP: Roy Oswalt

for

RF: IchiroSP: Doug FisterSS: Carlos Triunfel

Mariners, at 45-52, now find themselves rated #2 in MLB in Starting Pitchers.

Post All-Star Break lineup, probably not looking to make any more moves before the end of the year.

Rotation: Felix, Oswalt, McClellan, Pineda, Stewart

Zach Stewart is a stand-out after looking like crap in his brief attempt at the majors last season. 8-4, 3.65 ERA, 96 K in 115 IP. Primary pitch is a 92-95mph sinker with 4-6 inches of late drop. Sinker, sinker, slider, sinker, slider. Pretty nasty stuff, only 25 years old. Making up for Pineda's slide toward mediocrity.

Closer Chris "Pure Rage" Perez has already topped David Aardsma's last season total saves (Granted, many of those saves were for the Indians), holding an ERA under 2.00. 26 years old, but in a contract year. Aardsma had an extra year under contract when we made the trade, but we would've been stuck with Aardsma another year, so I'm fine with having to pay up.

Infield: Smoak, Ackley/Schumaker, Iglesias, Chisenhall.

Smoak's underperforming terribly. .230's, single-digit homers at the break. Ackley and Schumaker are sharing time at second. Schu is still a better fielder, and a more consistent hitter at times. Ackley has more power and better speed.

Iglesias is a stud at shortstop, plain and simple. He's got a hoover glove, a great arm, absurd range. He's also been hitting in the .270-.280 range and is sneaking up on ten homers. Might have to find a way to keep him in the lineup even if he didn't bring a bat to the plate, just for the defense.

Chisenhall is keeping about even with Lawrie's development. He's not much different as a hitter, and doesn't have quite as much speed on the bases. He's got a better glove, and is a year older than Lawrie. On the surface, the trade is pointless, but Chisenhall -did- bring along a 4-year contract, while Lawrie was going to want to Get Paid in two years.

Outfield: Saunders/Snider, McClouth, Brown/Viciedo

Kind of a rotating mess in the outfield, after trading off Ichiro and Frank. Saunders and Snider are sharing time in left, also rotating through the DH slot. McClouth has locked down center and is showing more power than expected. Brown, the recent acquisition from the Ichiro trade... at 24 years old, the dude could turn into the Mariner's next Ken, Jr. Hits for average, hits for power, good arm, good glove, good speed.

Might be too late to turn things around THIS season, and injuries are being a bit of a problem... BUT, this is looking like a team that can contend, finally.

Steven Hill is actually listed in the conversation for rookie of the year, though he's competing in this year's class of rookies with Eric Hosmer, who's hitting over .300 with 19 homers.

We're stuck starting Jason Pridie in LF, with both Saunders and Snider on IR. Kind of typical M's luck, really -- Last assessment put the Mariners with the #2 pitching staff in all of baseball, so two of our best bats immediately go onto the 60-day DL. Will be lucky to see them again before next year, and they might've made the difference with getting a sniff at the playoffs.

Domonic Brown is a freak. He's at around .260 with 19 HR and 70 RBIs at present, after a bit of a slump. Ackley and Schumaker are now splitting time at 2B. Ackley's gotten his fielding up to even with Schu's, but Schu's got too good of a bat against right-handers to be kept completely out of the lineup. Makes for some weird lineups, though... Leading off, the Designated Hitter, your backup no-power second baseman.

Pridie and Isidro Ramirez (2011 1st round draft pick) are making good swings on the ball, but neither is a superstar just yet. Isidro might be taking over for McClouth next year, or at least splitting time.

Roy Oswalt put up a 4-hit shutout in his first start for the M's. Niiiiiiice.

The 2012 M's finish out the season lollygagging around. I even catch the team in the showers and throw bats at them. You guys. You lollygag the ball around the infield. You lollygag your way down to first. You lollygag in and out of the dugout. You know what that makes you? Larry!

Nothing works.

74-88 on the season.

Oswalt keeps tearing it up, and finishes the year 18-9, wondering why the other guys keep whining about 'Run Support'. He also fires his agent for letting this stupid trade go through in the first place.

Steven Hill, in what strikes me as an amazing accomplishment considering the competition, is the AL Rookie of the Year. Hits about .270, knocks out about 15 homers, but mainly wins it through stamina and defense. I don't think the dude missed a game all year.

Detroit wins the 'series.

Miguel Olivo, C says to hell with it all and retires. My hitting coach and 1B Coach's contracts expire. I end up agreeing with Oswalt and firing my pitching coach.

The offseason so far has largely consisted of getting my expiring guys back under contract. Doesn't look to be any big free agent movement this offseason, and I'm backing up against the set salary budget so I don't expect that to change. Most guys are resigned; Perez, Brown, Pineda, Ackley... Most notable departure is RP Brandon League, who won't even -consider- my offers once Colorado makes a bid on him. Apparently he REALLLY likes Colorado.

I'm playing RTTS trying to get my CF outta Jackson and to Tacoma. I havn't had this much fun playing a baseball game since I created the 2001 Mariners in N64 Ken Griffey Jr Baseball. (In 2002)

I was surprised in a few moves the Mariners made in RTTS (year 1). Both Ackley and Franklin were immediately promoted to MLB and they traded Chone Figgins for 3B David Freese. The Ackley promotion wasn't that surprising but I think they moved Franklin up a little soon! Also James Paxton is the best pitcher in the league at AA at 10-1 with a 2.11 ERA.

"If the opportunity presents itself, we're going to come get you. You’re part of the family. You're part of us. You helped us start this thing." - John Schneider before releasing Michael Robinson

I'm doing all of my own trades, trying to play at least one game a week (Though will hit stretches where I just want to fast-forward the season a bit, and I'll sim through, pausing for injuries and roster assessments)-- Hmmm, I think everything else is set up on manual.

Yeah, I brought Ackley along a little more slowly. His 'overall' rating started out at the top of the list, but I didn't think his skillset at the time made him the 'best fit'. That's one occasional problem with the AI. I do think it's pretty solid in general, though.

Biggest problem for 2013 is going to be middle relief. It was -already- the weak link in my pitching staff, and got drastically worse when League flat-out refused to resign. Definitely going to have to pull a trade or two before spring training, as I'm wanting to make a run in '13.

If I can't manage to get the M's to the WS by '15 or so, I'll probably go back to RTTS for a while.

It's a great mode, but I do tend to get a bit bored doing JUST pitching, or JUST a 2B, etc.

17-14 for the Preseason. Early overall rankings have the M's at 15th. Not overly promising, but better than they've been before. Opening day starts with a bang as Domonic Brown hits a 3-run jack in the top of the 1st. Felix promptly gives up 4 runs in the first two innings.

Sigh.

Split the series 2-2 with Cleveland, and then heading to Boston. Actually, I'll take a road split, but looks like it might be another one of them seasons. Felix has been underperforming since day one. By the third season, I'm thinking that's just what you get with Felix. For 13 million dollars, maybe we could do better? Stewart's in a contract year, already getting pestered with trade interest.

2013 could have a few more pages written about it, but Fixing the Mariners is drawing to a close, so I'll stick with the pertinent bits.

At the All-Star Break, I was a bit down on the team, though starting to perk up as a pretty vicious winning streak had the M's at 47-45 at the break. Two Mariners graced the AL roster; Smoak and Chris Perez.

Zero trades were made in 2013, as we were pretty content with the roster if not altogether happy with the performance. Seattle clinched a weak division a couple weeks before the end of the season, and finished up with a 87-75 record. Playoffs.

The first opponent would be the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. As much as Seattle was seen as a general underdog in the playoffs, Tampa Bay was more so. We outclassed them in every department on paper. Still, the Rays fought feisty. Seattle made it through, scraping out a 2-1 victory to win 3 games to 2.

The ACLS looked a bit more frightening: Detroit was on a run, having just taken down Boston. Somewhat surprisingly, they put up less of a fight.

The 2013 Seattle Mariners defeated Detroit 4 games to 2, and prepared to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

Game 5: Seattle wins 3-0. Zach Stewart completes a World Series MVP run, throwing a shutout.

-----------------

The M's win the World Series. LaRussa has a job for life.

I'm tempted to keep going, although technically at this point I'd say the Mariners are 'fixed'. Next year looks like it'll be a HUGE pain in the ass -- We didn't get much of a budgetary increase, despite winning the big games. Perez, Chisenhall, Stewart, Brown... everyone's contract is up, everyone wants to get paid, and there isn't any money. Might have to do one of those Marlins-esque roster blow-ups, get rid of some high dollar players, and start rebuilding. Urgh.